Perry Twp. turns focus to finding new chief

Perry Township trustees have switched their focus from dealing with the fallout of their former police chief to finding a new one.

The careers of former Chief Timothy Escola and former part-time Officer Janine England have ended after an intimate relationship was caught on video and exposed. Escola resigned abruptly June 29 and trustees fired England July 7.

Perry Township trustees have switched their focus from dealing with the fallout of their former police chief to finding a new one.

The careers of former Chief Timothy Escola and former part-time Officer Janine England have ended after an intimate relationship was caught on video and exposed. Escola resigned abruptly June 29 and trustees fired England July 7.

Trustees have assigned the department’s four sergeants – its highest-ranking officers – with overseeing daily operations.

Trustee Lee Laubacher recalled the process used four years ago to hire Escola, who was serving as major of the Jackson Township Police Department.

Trustees formed a citizens committee when they were searching for a replacement for Chief Mark Machan, who was fired by the board. Laubacher said the same attributes that the committee developed can serve as a basis for this hiring process.

“We’ve already got ideas from that committee on what the township people like to see in a police chief,” he said. “I still think that’s relevant. Maybe we can get some people who fit into those categories.”

Laubacher, however, wants a quicker process than before.

“This time we need to be a little quicker on the draw,” he said. “I don’t want to necessarily say in two weeks we will have (a chief). I don’t think that’s a good thing to do.”

Trustees set an Aug. 3 deadline for applications and plan to advertise the job opening on the Web sites of the Ohio Police Chiefs Association and Ohio Township Association.

They also want to meet with police officers to see what they want in a new chief. Trustee Anna Capaldi said officers can give better input on what will be a new chief’s “daily management” duties.

The media attention of the Escola/England incident has already attracted four unsolicited applications. Those who have already applied are:

• Christopher A. Rudy, investigator for the Summit County Prosecutor’s Office and former lieutenant with the Jackson Township Police Department.

• Vito DeBona, owner of the Grizzly Market and a former patrolman and sergeant with the Copley Police Department. Also served on a U.S. Marshall Task Force.

• Gene H. Fixler, lieutenant with the Ohio Department of Mental Health Police Department at Northcoast Behavioral Healthcare and former lieutenant with the Grand River Police Department.

• Richard R. Braddock, a former deputy with the Morrow County Sheriff’s Office.